“Robert, I would like you to meet Emerson James. She’s my houseguest for the next three months. Emerson, meet Robert, my chef.”

He extended his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Emerson.”

“Thank you. It’s nice to meet you too.”

“I’ll be making omelets today. Would you like one?” he asked.

“No thanks. I can make my own.” I winked.

Looking over at Alex, he narrowed his eyes at me.

“Robert doesn’t like anyone in his kitchen.”

“Really? I thought this was your kitchen. And if I recall, I made dinner for me the other night and breakfast yesterday morning. In this kitchen. Your kitchen.” I pointed my finger at him.

He studied me, giving me a look that my brother always gave me when he was debating whether or not to say something.

“You will wait until Robert is done making breakfast before starting yours. You are not to be in his way. Do you understand, heartbreaker?”

How dare him. I strutted over to him and whispered in his ear, “Yes, I understand. Call me ‘heartbreaker’ again and it’s your heart I won’t be breaking. It’ll be your balls. Do you understand?” I walked away and went to my room.

****

Alex

Who the hell did she think she was talking to me like that? I got up from the island and followed her into her bedroom.

“Excuse me, Emerson. How dare you speak to me that way. Do you know who you’re talking to?”

“Yes. I’m talking to you, Alex Parker. A regular guy with the same shit going on in his head like any other ordinary guy. Just because you have mega millions, it doesn’t give you the right to order people around like that.”

Now she really had me mad. “And you have no right speaking to me that way.”

“And you have no right calling me ‘heartbreaker.’”

I sighed. “I apologize for calling you that.”

“And I apologize for saying that I’d break your balls.”

“Fine. Apology accepted. But don’t ever speak to me that way again.”

“You can guarantee I will if you call me something other than ‘Emerson’ again.”

The longer I stayed in her room and argued with her, the angrier I became. I started to walk out and stopped when I reached the door. I turned around and put my finger up.

“You—” I was so angry that I couldn’t finish my sentence. She stood there with her arms folded and stared at me. I walked out and went to the dining room to have breakfast.

As I was eating, Robert stepped into the room and asked to speak with me.

“My mother has taken ill and I need to go to see her in Florida. I really don’t know how long I’ll be gone,” he spoke.

“I’m sorry to hear that. When are you leaving?”

“As soon as possible.”

“I understand, Robert. Have a safe trip and I hope your mother feels better soon.”

“Thank you, sir.” He gave a small nod and went back into the kitchen.

Could this day get any worse? As I tried to eat my breakfast, I couldn’t get over the fact that Emerson had spoken to me the way she did. No woman had ever spoken to me that way and it would never happen again.

Chapter 6

Emerson

I take back what I said about Alex Parker not being such a bad guy. He was a complete asshole the way he spoke to me in his commanding voice, like I was some sort of child. Maybe I shouldn’t have told him what I did, but my defenses had gone up. The only people who had a right to talk to me like that were my parents. I couldn’t stop thinking about how he came into my room last night to check on me. As weird as it was having him hover over me in bed, it was a nice gesture on his part. I got the feeling there were two sides of Alex Parker. I just hadn’t figured out yet which side was more dominant. I was only here for three months and it wouldn’t be difficult to have as little contact with him as possible.

After putting on my bathing suit, and as I was walking out the patio door, I heard Alex call my name.

“Emerson. I need to speak with you for a moment.”

I rolled my eyes and turned around to face him.

“Yes, Alex.”

“Robert’s mother has taken ill and he is leaving for Florida. So I will need you to step in and take his place.”

I raised my eyebrow at him. “Take his place? What exactly do you mean?”

“You’ll be his replacement chef. Mainly cooking my breakfast in the morning and an occasional dinner.”

I laughed uncontrollably. “You’re kidding, right? You expect me to cook for you?”

“No and yes. Since you apparently have these mad cooking skills, it will save me from having to hire another personal chef. After all, I am letting you stay here,” he spoke with seriousness.

Cocking my head, I stared at him, becoming distracted by his overall sexiness in his tailored business suit and his scent that lingered in the air. Damn him.

“Fine. Since you were kind enough to open up your home to me while my brother is away, the least I could do is repay you by cooking your meals.” I pretty much had to choke out the words.

“Very good. You’ll start tomorrow morning. Breakfast is at 7:30 sharp.”

“And if I don’t have it ready until 7:31 or perhaps 7:32?”

He took in a sharp inhale. “7:30, Miss James.” He walked away without even cracking a smile. I didn’t see him the rest of the day or night, which was fine with me. I wasn’t particularly liking his attitude.

****

I made sure to wake up nice and early to serve His Majesty his breakfast on time. Just as Alex walked into the kitchen, I plated his quiche with a side of fresh fruit and a homemade banana-nut muffin.

“Good morning,” he mumbled.

“Morning. Your breakfast is ready.”

“It smells delicious in here. Did you make homemade muffins?”

“Yes. Banana-nut. I hope you like them.”

“They aren’t my first choice, but I don’t mind them.”

I rolled my eyes as I set his plate on the table.

“Are you joining me?” he asked as he sat down.

I cocked my head. “Does Robert ever join you?”

“No.”

“Then why would I?”

I walked out of the dining room and into the kitchen with a small smile on my face. I poured myself another cup of coffee and took a muffin from the cooling rack. Banana-nut might not have been his first choice, but they sure were mine. As I was cleaning up, Alex brought his plate to the kitchen.

“That was an excellent breakfast.”

“It must be those mad cooking skills I supposedly have,” I replied as I stood over the sink, washing a pan.

Suddenly, I felt a wave of hot breath over my neck as he came up from behind and leaned close to my ear.

“You have very mad cooking skills and I can’t wait to see what you cook up next.”

I gulped. His scent was infiltrating my space and it was driving me crazy, not to mention the fabric of his suit that lightly brushed up against my skin.

“Guess you’ll have to wait and find out,” I spoke without turning around.

My phone, which was sitting on the counter, beeped with a voicemail message. Strange that I hadn’t heard it ring. Alex backed up and I reached over and pressed play and hit the speaker button because my hands were wet. It was from a number I didn’t recognize.

“Hey, Em, it’s Ryan. I got a new number and want you to have it if you change your mind about us and come back to Connecticut. I sure do miss you, baby. I miss the great sex we had and I miss holding you in my arms.”

I immediately stopped the message and sighed. Shit. I couldn’t believe Alex heard that.

“Ryan? Great sex? Another heart you broke?” He snickered.

I took in a deep breath. “The sex wasn’t all that great and, yes, another heart I broke. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to finish cleaning up before I head down to the beach.”

“Enjoy your day and thank you for breakfast.”

“No problem. After all, you are letting me stay in your castle.” I gave a small smile.